1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to remote control devices for electronics products.
2. Description of Related Art
The modern home may have a wide array of consumer electronics devices. These may include nearly any type of audio or video entertainment product, such as televisions, video cassette recorders, audio cassette recorders, audio/video receivers and preamps, cable boxes, laser disc players and camcorders.
Consumer electronics devices typically utilize hand-held remote control units to permit a user to rapidly and efficiently control selected functions from a distance. Early mechanical/ultrasonic remote control units were fairly limited and generally permitted only one or two functions to be controlled. For example, television remote control units utilizing mechanical/ultrasonic technology generally permitted a user to turn the power on to the television and to cycle through each channel in a preselected rotation. For some time, remote control units have been available which transmit control signals by way of infrared or radio frequency transmitters. These wireless remote control units have freed the user to move about a room or even about their home and to control the device from wherever it is most convenient to the user.
Consumer electronics devices and systems have become very complex and loaded with functionality. Particularly, with the expanding use of microprocessor-based devices and the ability to interconnect audio systems, video systems, security system, home automation systems and personal computers, the possible ways to interconnect and operate device has grown significantly. Remote control units have correspondingly become highly complex. A number of manufacturers sell remote control units which include as many as one hundred small buttons or keys, resulting in a severe decrease in the usability of these devices. This is remarkable, considering the huge number of consumers who cannot set the time on their VCR. Furthermore, the number and complexity of remote control units typically found in a home have reached a level where the convenience provided by the remote control units is often overcome by the difficulty in locating and operating them.
Thus, several problems have arisen. First, there is the problem of how to allow the user to control a huge number of features from a remote control unit. Second, there is the problem of how to avoid overwhelming the user with controls on a remote control unit which the user will never use. Third, there is the problem of users having to deal with multiple remote control units with overlapping operability. Fourth, there is the problem of the considerable amount of space which an aggregation of remote control units often occupy.
One solution which has found some acceptance in the market is the universal remote control unit. A universal remote control unit consolidates multiple remote control units and, it is hoped, improves their usability. Typical universal remote control units can learn the commands of other Remote control units, either through pre-programmed lists of consumer electronics devices or by teaching the universal remote control unit each command which the user might wish to have available on the universal Remote control unit. One of the problems with universal remote control units has been that their generic keypads are often cumbersome and not particularly intuitive in layout or labeling. Furthermore, the designers of these devices must compromise between having separate buttons for each possible command and small button sizes.
With the advent of home theater systems, the complexity of controls has advanced to an even greater plateau. Now, the remote must not only control the TV, the VCR, the cable box and the stereo, it must be able to control the surround sound quality, turn on multiple devices at the same time, and issue a series of commands to multiple devices to accomplish a single task. Naturally, the consumer electronics industry has developed products to serve this new need in the marketplace. These more advanced universal remote control units are exemplified by the Home Producer 8 from Universal Electronics, Inc. (Tustin, Calif.), the RC 2000 from Marantz (Roselle, Ill.), the RR990 from Rotel (North Reading, Mass.), and the RC-R0905 from Kenwood.
There has also been an increasing desire to integrate consumer electronics with security systems and to provide some control from a remote control unit of the home environment. For example, it is desirable that, when a user wishes to watch a cable program, not only is the TV set powered on and set to receive the video input, the A/V receiver is powered on and set to play the cable program at a reasonable loudness, the cable decoder is powered on and set to a favorite channel, but also the room's lighting is dimmed, the air conditioner is set to a comfortable level and the home security system is armed against perimeter violations. Some products (not necessarily Remote control units) are available which can be programmed to do these kinds of things. These products include the HAS-1350 HomeVision Intelligent Home Controller available from Home Automation Systems, Inc. (Irvine, Calif.), the ISR TronArch Intelligent Home Automation System, the BrightTouch from Crestron, the TheaterLink from Vantage, and the Landmark System from PHAST, the IntelliControl from Niles, and the 700T from Lexicon.
One of the common problems with universal remote control units, and a problem which is especially severe with the most flexible and programmable remote control units, is programming. A universal remote control unit simply cannot be factory-programmed with every possible configuration. The user is left with poor choices--do without some functions, spend many hours programming and reprogramming their programmable remote control unit, suffer through a remote control unit which is not programmed in a memorable manner, or paying a professional to program the remote control unit. Despite the availability of programmable remote control units, the best remote control unit for a multimedia processing unit is usually the one which is provided with a multimedia processing unit. It is very difficult to overcome this one-to-one correspondence of remote control units and multimedia processing units. These problems have resulted in the marketplace largely rejecting the more advanced universal remote control units.